


Some Say The World Will End In Fire

by holdplay



Series: OW Origin Stories [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Origin Story, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 10:37:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11667414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdplay/pseuds/holdplay
Summary: Jamison does not remember his mother or father. Jamison does not remember the omnium explosion. Jamison does not remember how he initially survived.After all, he was only 3 when it happened.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First thing I choose to write's such a nice, light topic, huh? 
> 
> I use this timeline as a reference: https://overgosh.tumblr.com/post/147524579927/overgoshs-overwatch-timeline-the-information

 

Charlotte and Oliver Fawkes managed to live through the omnium's explosion-- that much could not be said for many in their area.

However, they did not survive much longer after that.

 

Charlotte went first. She never had that great of an immune system, was always getting the cold or strep, just little things like that. But the radiation poisoned her just as quickly as it poisoned the land. She died isolated, locked herself in the bathroom despite the pleas of her husband and the crying of her child, refusing to cause any risk to them.

 

Oliver survived an impressive year with Jamison. The radiation was slower on him, more torturous. It was bearable at first, but his last month was the worst. He could hardly keep his son fed, let alone himself. Not that he was able to keep anything down as it was. It was around this time that a strange sort of miracle came about, in the form of what appeared to be a biker gang. They were scavenging for food and parts when they came across the father and child, both already half-dead. Oliver begged them to take Jamison-- explaining that he was a healthy boy, but just very hungry and thirsty. They probably wouldn't have taken him in if it weren't for Mia, who had lost a child around Jamie's age to the explosion. She took pity on him, and agreed. This was the boy's first memory; a haggard man with sunken eyes and a bloody mouth handing him over to a woman caked in dirt, nose and mouth covered by a black bandanna but eyes shining with sympathy and even a little bit of hope. He cannot remember what was said, other than one final pleading tone, and a sharp sound that he would later come to identify as a gunshot.

 

From that point on; Jamison Fawkes, the child who survived impossible odds, began to take a backseat to Junkrat.

 


	2. Humble Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year after being taken in by people now known as "junkers", little Jamison considers them family.

"Oh bloody shittin' hell, why's the lil rat wailing now?" A grizzled and brawny man groaned, rubbing his eyes to see Mia leaning against her bike a few feet away, briskly bouncing the toddler on her knee.

"He's hungry." She replied shortly, annoyed that Will never seemed to grasp the idea that growing children needed almost constant sustenance. "I've been tellin' you for ages now, it's better we overstock. That way this," she eyed Jamison. "doesn't happen, and we can all get some shut eye."

Will slowly eased himself up from the thin, worn blanket he slept on, and glanced around. The inside of the makeshift shelter was scraggly and unstable, but it was the best they could do with their current supplies as sheets for walls and the various different objects to stand them up on. One side was propped up by two golf clubs, another by an exceptionally tall crowbar-- which doubled as a weapon, as seen from the reddened end of it, and the other two sides were barely held by rusty pipes. At Mia's insistence, there was a small gap in the tent for easy in and out access, where he could see her take care of the child now.

"I know." He grunted before slowly crouching up and making his way out from the tent. The early rays of sun shone on his tanned, almost leathery skin-- revealing a lifetime of outdoorsmanship. "Where's Olivia n' Jack?"

"Scouting." She said before looking to him with tired brown eyes. His gaze went to her, then to Jamison, whose cries had lessened into hiccups.

"Christ on the cross, J. You're gonna dehydrate yourself as well, huh?" He went over to his own bike and grabbed a water canteen, though Mia was lightly protesting.

"I think he can wait a tick longer, you really don't have to. Especially with y'own water." She insisted, but he walked to where they were and plucked the boy from her arms.

"You want him to live, don'tcha?" He could feel her eyes burning on him as he uncapped the canteen and slowly tipped it back for Jamison to drink. He took a few eager gulps before Will eased up and put him back on Mia's knee. "That'll do you til ron _._ " He studied the child for a few moments longer, looking him in the eyes now. He, like the rest of them, had bags under his eyes. But unlike the rest of them... "Are his eyes changin' color?" He couldn't keep the surprise from his voice, and she let out a relieved breath.

"Oh bless you, Will. I thought I was goin' even more bonkers. Yeah, I noticed it a few days back." She nodded.

"They look copper." He mused before straightening himself up. "Still can't believe you've managed to keep track'a the days and all. How'd you do it?"

"Been counting every sunrise since we got 'im." She combed a gentle hand through Jamison's patchy blond hair.

"Why? What's worth the trouble?"

"It's no trouble to remember how old the boy is." She said sharply, then took a breath. "His fourth's coming up soon. I... wanted to do something special for 'im, maybe find a sweet or something." She mumbled, and Will's expression softened.

"That's why you been so hellbent on covering so much ground lately." He nodded slowly dropping a hand to her shoulder, patting it lightly in reassurance. "Y'are goin' more bonkers. Wish you just told us in the first place so you'd quit drivin' us up the damn wall." He teased, punching her shoulder gently before bringing his arms up to cross over his chest.

"Says the bastard who called that knob-shaped rock a beaut a few days back." She scowled, but there was humor in her voice.

"It was! Ace to see despite everything nature's still got some jokes up her sleeve." He laughed until the distant sound of a motor cut through the air. They both tensed, ready to go fend off hostiles, but relaxed when a periodic sputtering kicked in. "Looks like Olivia n'Jack are back."

* * *

"Tell me you're not pullin' wool over my eyes!" Mia gasped when the two reported their findings. Jack looked particularly proud of himself, arms crossed with a huge toothy grin covering his features.

"Never, love! It ain't big by any means, but it's a pharmacy in the middle of bloody fucking nowhere. We took what we could carry, but there's _so_ much more." He smirked before dumping his bag. Olivia rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly before carefully emptying her bag in contrast. In Jack's bag was a wealth of medicine and bandages, and in Olivia's, there were some snacks and bottles of water. "I won't lie, there was some tracks that circled it, looked like car tracks, but it looked days old. If they forgot where it was, I reckon we've got the goods to ourselves-- if we're quick enough."

"This is a miracle." Mia breathed, clutching Jamison tightly to her chest. He giggled and reached up to grab her face.

"Ma." The sound froze everyone, and attention slowly turned to the boy. His voice was unusually high pitched, and before anyone could question if it was really him, he wriggled around in her grasp before saying it louder. "Ma!" There was an uncomfortable pause.

They didn't know much about Jamison, other than that he was supposedly healthy-- according to his father. Physically, it seemed to be true, but upon the initial few months with the boy, he just didn't speak. According to Will, at his age, they were supposed to. But then again, he also did survive a radioactive apocalypse. For a while, they thought perhaps it had effected his speech capabilities; but three weeks ago, he did this same thing. Called Mia his ma out of the blue.

Will cleared his throat. "We've got time to talk about this later. Right now, we need to haul fucking arse. Where there's a pharmacy, there's a town, and unless everyone got wiped somehow down here, which I doubt by the sound of 'em car tracks, ain't just gonna sit pretty for us in the meantime."

There were collective nods as everyone quickly packed up camp and got ready to move. Will was always the quickest, and while Mia packed up her end, he held Jamison.

"What're you doing, kid?" He muttered quietly, watching Jamison chew on his own hand. When he moved it out of his mouth, he abruptly swung his head to look up at Will. Suddenly, the focused attention of those copper eyes almost felt unnerving. Maybe... he was able to speak? But maybe he just didn't have the means. They often joked about Mia being his ma, so that was probably where he got that word from. He hesitated before looking the child in the eyes. "Can you say Da, J? Da?" He blinked up at him before resuming chewing on his hand. Will sighed. If this was going to happen, it probably wouldn't happen overnight.

Soon enough, everyone had loaded their share onto their bikes. Mia glanced to Olivia, who was in the sidecar of Jack's motorcycle, and was tightly hugged Jamison. He couldn't ride with his 'ma' for obvious safety precautions, since she had to drive her bike. Thankfully enough, Jack and Olivia took turns hanging onto him whenever they traveled. The younger woman saw her worried gaze and cheerfully waved the child's hand towards her. Though Mia couldn't hear him over the rumbling of the bikes, his mouth was open in what appeared to be sheer laughter. She smiled to herself before looking ahead to Will.

"Ready?" He bellowed before counting three quick nods. With that, they started their race to the pharmacy.

* * *

Jamison could not hear a thing over the roaring of the bikes. But he saw, and he felt. He saw the wasteland that was once the outback hurtle past him almost faster than he could process it. He saw clouds of dirt that would otherwise blind him stick to the goggles tightened over his face. With a clumsy hand, he wiped away the dust to see again. Where plants and animals once were, evolved to be as tough as their environment, there was nothing. But he didn't know that. He knew nothing of cacti and thorny devils and acacias and dingos-- just sand and rock. He saw this desolate place, and in his mind, assumed that it must have always been like this. After all, he didn't know any better.

The scenery got boring after awhile, so he focused on the ticklish vibrations of the bike. He wiggled and giggled and kicked his legs, tried to flail his arms in the wind-- but Olivia had a firm hold on him. She gave him a small squeeze and he lolled his head back against her chest. He felt the pulse of her heart near his ear, and shifted to curl near it. There was something comforting about that sound, it always lulled him to sleep. Granted, he preferred Mia's gentle, natural hold than Olivia's stiff, unsure one, but it would do for now.

A sharp pang of hunger hit his stomach again, and immediately his eyes began to well up. Crying only got him food sometimes, but he didn't know what else to do. Just as he was about to let out a strong wail, Olivia's hand brushed across his cheek. She felt slight wetness near the corner of his eye, and awkward shifted to reach an arm down under to seat, feeling around until she produced a granola bar. It was her own food, and Mia would have probably insisted that she didn't have to sacrifice something of hers-- but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. She unwrapped it and handed it to Jamison, who ate in under a minute. He could feel the reverberation of her chuckle against her body, and felt the hunger deep within his belly die down, at least for now.

* * *

The roaring of the bikes dulled to a rumble, and then complete silence as they came to a stop.

"That the place?" Will asked quietly, gesturing over to a small, unassuming building in the distance.

"Right it is. Why'd we stop just a few clicks away though?" Jack seemed puzzled, even through his helmet.

"Close enough to see it's close enough for me. Any closer and we're askin' for trouble." Will shook his head.

They gathered their backpacks and weapons in silence, a tenseness coming over the group. It was empty earlier, but Will was right. Nothing stayed untouched or hidden for long. Before they started their trek, Olivia handed off Jamison to Mia, who put him in her backpack. He didn't fit all the way in, but had thankfully learned by now to crouch down and make himself as small as possible. Despite the slow process of speech, he seemed to learn perfectly well.

The group quickly made their way over to the pharmacy, hiding behind rocks and abandoned vehicles when they could. From this angle as they approached the front, it didn't seem like they had company-- until Will hissed.

"Look!"

Right near the corner of the building, right where the back was, there was just a glimpse of the back of a car. A large and maintained one, by the looks of it.

"I say we cut our losses. We've already got a good chunk of shit. I th--" Jack was interrupted by Will squeezing his throat.

"This is the best find we've had in months." He spoke slowly and quietly. "And I'll be bloody damned if we just let this slip by. Big car don't mean a lot of blokes. We go in, shoot, get everything we can carry, and get out." He released his grip on the other man's throat, who swallowed missing breaths. "Agreed?"

Jack reluctantly nodded, while Mia and Olivia exchanged a glance. Last time something like this had happened, they managed to hide Jamison away. But this time, with his feathery hair peeking just slightly over her shoulder, there wasn't really anywhere to put him. Leaving him alone with the bikes was out of the question. Will seemed to understand this concern.

"Jack and I'll be the front. Olivia, you stay behind us. Mia, you take one step in there and don't go any further. Cover for us, but if shit hits the fan, run." His voice was low and urgent, but Mia did not seem troubled anymore. She held his gaze with steely eyes and a set jaw before giving him a curt nod.

"Sounds like a plan."

Olivia and Jack gave their approval as well before they approached in their formation. Will and Jack already had their guns out and their arms tensed. Olivia had her hand on her holster and crept behind them, and Mia brought up the rear. They flattened themselves to the windowless corner of the building, right next to the entrance. They could hear low voices inside, but were unable to distinguish any words. Will glanced back, gave a nod, then barged inside with Jack. Shouting and gunfire erupted immediately, and Olivia practically threw herself through the door. Mia could hear her blood pounding in her ears as she went in last, drawing her gun the second her foot was in the door.

Two men were already on the ground. One was dead, a single shot to the chest-- probably Will's marksmanship. The other was shot in the throat and left to bleed to death, which was most likely Jack's handiwork. The man looked at her with glazed eyes and a face twisted in hatred, trying to choke out some semblance of words-- but all that came from his mouth was blood, and the occasional chunk of gore. She carefully stepped past him to get to Mia, whose gun was trained on small broken window that led to the pharmaceuticals. Inside, Will and Jack were fighting hand to hand with two more men, and appeared to be losing.

"They won't stay in one fuckin' place long enough." Olivia ground out through gritted teeth, the veins standing out from her neck further showing her tension and anxiety.

"Get in there, then." She hissed, pushing Olivia aside to take her place. "I'm here now, you go help them." The younger woman hesitated before pushing through the door to the other room.

Will had several gashes on his arms, trying to defend himself against a man with a long knife. He kept weaving and dodging well enough, but the guy was fast and had gangly limbs to match his weapon. Mia felt helpless as she watched him get sliced again and again-- true to Olivia's word, whenever Will would try to get him into a hold or pry the knife away, the man would slither from his grasp or contort his arm to stab him again. Then, a gunshot sounded. Everything seemed to freeze until the man dropped.

"You almost took my fucking head off!" Will roared, but a weak laugh from Olivia sounded.

"Almost."

Mia let out a breath of relief as she stumbled closer to the jagged window and peered in. Brain matter was splashed over the floors and on Will, but he was alive. Jack was on the floor, nursing what seemed to be some bullet injury in his arm. Shattered glass was both on the floor and the ledge right where she was, but thankfully no one seemed to have been cut by it.

"You get that other guy too?" He asked Olivia weakly. A heavy silence was his only answer.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Her voice shook. "I thought Mia did. Right?"

Mia was about to shake her head when the door at the front flew open. She whipped around to see the man who must have fled during the initial chaos pointing a gun right at her.

"You cunts." His voice dripped with venom. "Look what you did." He kicked the body of his nearest cohort, but his eyes were trained on Mia.

"I killed 'im." Will rasped, struggling to stand up straight. "Point that fucking gun at me, you shithead."

"Mm, I don't think I will." It felt as though he were boring holes straight through Mia's soul. "C'mere, love. Put that pack down and c'mere." Relief washed over her like a tidal wave. As long as Jamison wasn't attached to her, she could do whatever was necessary. Slowly, so the man could see, she put her backpack down next to an empty shelf-- but only so that the bottom half was facing out. The front, where the boy poked his head out, was hidden. He looked at her in confusion, but thankfully made no noise. Now liberated, she walked towards him. "Put that gun down and slide it over to me." The man gestured to the one in her grip. Mia locked eyes with him as she threw it to the ground and kicked it to him.

He grinned at her with blackened teeth as she walked over to him. She was about to stop outside of his arms reach when he lunged for her, one arm locked strongly around her throat and the other holding a gun to his head.

"If you touch another fucking hair on her head I swear on your mother's whore grave-" Will was cut off by a warning shot, fired into the ceiling above Mia's head.

"So here's what you lot're gonna do. You'll gather everythin' all nice in neat in your bags for me, and give me your weapons. Then you'll return all those essentials you stole from me and my boys, and if you're lucky, I might let all of you go on your merry way with those scrapheaps outside. But I may very well keep this one," he pressed uncomfortably close to Mia, his rank, hot breath on the back of her neck. "To myself. Bet she's a firecracker, ain't she, big guy? Kinda just wanna have my way with her ri-"

The man ended his word in a screech of pain, kicking at the source. Mia looked down in horror at Jamison, who was sprawled backwards from the force of the man's boot. His grip had loosened, and she saw her chance. Her elbow met his nose in a sharp, satisfying crunch, then quickly scooped her weapon from the ground and shot him. It was enough to knock him down, but he was still conscious. He was about to lunge at her legs when a high-pitched scream sounded, and Mia watched in shock as Jamison tackled him from behind, raised a shard of glass, and stabbed him in the back of the neck. All consciousness left the man's face at once, and he slumped over. The boy hit him with his hands, as if to make sure he was dead, and then hurried over to Mia. He launched himself into her arms, and even though she was crying out of how close she had come to losing him, he hadn't shed a tear. In fact, the only liquid on his face was blood from his nose-- when the toe of the boot connected with his fragile nose. Amazingly enough, it didn't seem to be broken.

Will, Olivia, and Jack came out from the back, just as surprised as she was. Will examined his legs to find that the one Jamison approached had another shard of glass embedded deep into the skin.

"He must've grabbed 'em when you put 'im down." He stared at Jamison in awe. "He saved your life."

"I'm so proud of you, Jamie." Mia smiled tearily at the boy. She had pushed her sense of nurturing and mothering into the back of her mind ever since they took him in, that she was doing the right thing, and that's what those feelings were, and that he could never replace her own daughter, but now, she could push them down no longer. She loved Jamison as if he were her own son. "My little boy, my brave, strong little boy." She whispered and hugged him fiercely.

"Ma." The sound was muffled against her chest, but she heard it and gave a laugh that was broken by a light sob.

"I'm your Ma, Jamie baby. As far as you're concerned."

 

 

 


End file.
